Rise of the Dragoon
by Saerry Snape
Summary: S2 Halloween fic. Different costume, different result...this time it puts a major new power into play.
1. Changes of a Sort

**Disclaimer:** Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor anything related to it belong to me.

**Chapter 1**

"Hey, Xander!"

The youth turned and smiled at his best friend Willow as she and Buffy approached, absently noticing the cardboard tag sticking out of her bag. He shook his head a little mentally at her age-old standby then said, "Hey, gals."

"Did you find anything?" asked Willow excitedly.

"Zero, zilch, nada," he replied. "I had two bucks set on buying a rifle but no go."

Buffy smiled and started, "I'm sure you'll find something, Xander. Oh, and about this morning…"

"Uh-uh, trying to repress."

She huffed at that and said, "Okay, then next time I promise I'll let you get pummeled."

"Thanks," said Xander. "I…well, okay, never_mind_ on the touching reconciliation moment." He scowled mildly at the blonde as she started to move away, obviously no longer paying attention.

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"Women and dresses. I like my women in spandex," he mumbled before ducking off into the depths of the shop whilst the owner and Buffy made talk over the dress. Angling around Jonathan – who was looking between a Darth Vader helmet and a pumpkin that seemed to be aiming for that of the Headless Horseman in indecision – he managed to latch his foot on something and went sprawling.

"Well that was perfectly slick and cool…hello!"

He reached out and picked up the dark bauble that had rolled to a stop in front of him after it had fallen from whatever he'd tripped over. Pushing himself up onto his knees, he regarding the sphere for a moment, noticing that if he turned it a certain way towards the light there appeared to be a snake-like eye set inside in green.

Set upon by curiosity, Xander turned and looked at what he had tripped over. A pair of dark leather boots now lay in the middle of the aisle, almost obscuring a thin piece of wood with something scrawled across it. Still half propped up on the bottom shelf was a piece of plastic red torso armor with an accompanying shoulder and arm guard near it on the shelf. A leather gauntlet and double strap belt were also lying on the shelf, held down by the toy longsword that rested there. And a red bandana hung from the neck of the armor, an opened pouch that must have held the bauble sitting just underneath it on the floor.

"Huh," said the youth before he leaned forward and pulled the piece of wood out from under the boots – absently noticing two more pieces of armor underneath them that looked to go over the knees. As he looked closer at it, he noticed that the thing scrawled across it was apparently a sketch of the character the costume was based on, all of it etched carefully into the thin wood with the barest hints of color. It was a young man wearing dark clothing underneath the armor and the boots with his sword in hand and the bandana holding wild blonde hair out of his eyes. The pouch the bauble had fallen out of hung from around his neck but he had one hand clenched about it and a fierce expression on his face, like he was daring someone to try and take it from him. There was also a barely legible signature near the bottom half of the piece, which he could only make out the first letter as an 's'. The second was maybe an 'h' and then after that it was completely illegible.

Xander blinked then said, "Neat. Pity I can't buy this…"

"I'm certain I can make you a fair offer," said a voice from nearby and he jumped before looking up to see the storeowner standing above him. The man offered him a hand up and he took it, shaking his head.

"I can't possibly afford that no matter what kind of a deal you make me."

The man arched an eyebrow and replied, "Well, now, I'll just have to prove you wrong about that."

Frowning, he looked at the man for a long moment then shrugged, saying, "Okay. Make me a deal."

* * *

"Wow, Xan!" exclaimed Buffy as she opened her front door to see her friend standing on the steps with his back to her. "You look great!"

"Really?" he asked as he turned, flicking a strand of hair from the blonde wig away from his eyes. He then saw her and dropped to one knee with his head bowed. "Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia! I firmly renounce spandex!"

She laughed a bit at that and curtsied.

"Why thank you, kind sir. And who might you be?"

"No idea," replied Xander as he rose and eased into the house without an invitation – a precaution he'd taken to heart after he'd first found out about vampires and after Jesse. "There was a wood carving of a guy that came with the costume but there wasn't anything on it to indicate a name. Anyway doesn't matter 'cause I bought this baby for a dime and its mine. So let's get Wills and head out to the horrors of bowing under Snyder."

Buffy smiled and shook her head, saying, "She'll be down in a minute. Oh, and wait till you see her, Xander. She's…"

She trailed off as a sheet-encased Willow appeared at the top of the stairs and waved.

"…Casper," finished Buffy with a sigh.

Xander grinned and waved back at his friend, saying, "Nice 'Boo' you got there, Wills. Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be," she replied meekly from under the sheet as she came down the stairs.

"Okay then. Ladies, please, allow me the honor of escorting you to our imminent demise!"

"Why, thank you, kind sir," said Buffy as she slipped her arm through his left, her hand resting lightly on the red plastic armor.

Willow bobbed into place on his right side and Xander grinned before they set off into the night, not a one knowing what was about to happen. Nor what enormous power was going to come into play that night.

* * *

Elsewhere, a man knelt in front of a statue.

"The world that denies thee, thou inhabit. The peace that ignores thee, thou corrupt. Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son."

He then bowed his head and waited a moment before speaking again.

"Janus, evoco vestram animam. Exaudi meam causam. Carpe noctem pro consilio vestro. Veni, appare et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas. Persona in corpus et sanguinem commutanda est. Vestra sancta praesentia concrescet viscera. Janus! Sume noctem!"

A wave of power swept out from around him, reaching out to envelope the entire unsuspecting town and its inhabitants. It wove its way into the spells he'd set on the costumes from his shop and made them what they should not be.

_Real._

As the power spilling out began to fade, the man suddenly gagged and clutched at his chest, face going pale. His body strained and the entire spell did the same as something pulled power…and more power…and _more_ power…

He gasped and collapsed, twitching, onto his side on the floor as it finally let go, either sated or simply unable to take anymore. The man knew he was lucky to be alive now and wondered just what costume had required that much power.

Whatever it was…it made things he'd seen and bargained with look like ants in comparison.

* * *

"This isn't Seles."

_No._

The blonde head turned then lifted a leather-clad hand to scratch just underneath the edge of the red bandana. Blue eyes looked around the area and a frown crossed the youthful face they were set in as the battle-hardened gaze took in what was around him.

"And these aren't Wingly machines either," he added, seemingly to himself.

There was a dull pulse from the pouch hanging from around his neck at that.

_These aren't any sort of machines that I've ever seen_, said a voice, ancient, wise, and powerful beyond belief. _We are also nowhere near where we are supposed to be._

"Hmm." The blonde head ducked as the young man clad in red armor sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. "So where are we?"

_I…I have no idea._

"And here I thought you knew everything."

The voice growled at that.

_Watch it, whelp! If you don't bite your tongue, I'll see to it that you never wear my armor again. I __**lend**__ you access to my power, not __**give it against my will**__ as Varusth did._

"You wouldn't do that, Div," said the young man, smirking slightly. "You like fighting too much to give up your only method of doing so."

_I can find other bearers._

"That's not what…"

_I do not care what that old hag said!_ Snapped the voice, very obviously enraged. _Now…if you will, do fend off that beast trying to sneak up behind you._

"With pleasure," said the young man. He turned on a heel, unsheathing his longsword in one smooth motion, and caught the claws of a demon against the flat of the blade. Blue eyes stared into flaming red and he frowned. "This isn't home, is it, Div?"

The voice seemed to frown and regard the demon itself. Then it replied, _No, I'm afraid not._

"Damn."

The demon snarled and loosed its claws from his blade, moving back to make another attack. He didn't allow it the chance to do such a thing. Stepping across the space between them, he lashed out with his gauntleted left fist, heavy armor catching the demon in the jaw. A twist of his blade slapped away the claws that might have severed the nerves and muscle in his right leg and the demon grunted as it was thrown off balance. When it attempted to recover, he thrust an armor-clad knee into its side and it toppled over with a roar of dismay.

_Don't kill it_, warned the voice, making him pause as he was about to thrust his sword downwards into the beast. _There is something vastly wrong here. This world isn't ours but…I can still sense a few things. And while this beast is natural…_

"This monster is natural?" gasped the young man, staring at the demon that was starting to rise to its feet again.

…_there is something off about it. It is not as it is supposed to be._

"So…run?"

_No, stay here and die, leaving me to remain dormant for a thousand years,_ snipped the voice, its tone heavy with sarcasm. _Yes, __**run**__, you idiot!_

The young man snorted and turned, sheathing his sword as he set off down the unfamiliar streets, blue eyes darting around for signs of friends or enemies – and also in case the demon made its way to its feet and decided coming after him was a good idea. "Keep that up," he said, "and I just might wander into death, Div."

You haven't died in the last ten years that you've carried me around. Somehow I doubt you have the capacity to die anytime soon.

"What a nice sense of belief you have in me, Div."

Feh. Your sarcasm isn't appreciated, whelp.

"Neither is yours but I put up with it anyway, don't I?"

The voice chuckled darkly at that, saying, _And adapted some of it as your own._

He scoffed then blinked as someone came running up behind him, yelling a name that he couldn't quite understand. Turning, he saw a girl scantily clad – though wearing more than Meru ever had – in what looked to be leather coming running at him. He braced for an impact but instead she passed through him, leaving him with a chill and sending Div into a fit.

_A spirit?! Impossible! She's alive in every way – look, she's even __**breathing!**_

"Oh…well…crap," said the redhead, staring down at her arms. She then turned to look at him and cried, "Xander, we have to get out of here! Everyone's turned into their costumes that they got from…that…" Her eyes glanced over him, taking in his armor and general appearance, and she gasped. "No…no, not you too…"

_I'm confused_, he thought, staring at the young woman.

That doesn't surprise me. Talk to her, idiot! Figure out what's going on here because she obviously at least partly knows what's going on!

_Okay, okay…_ "Miss…I'm afraid I'm a bit confused. Just what's going on here?"

"Its Halloween," she breathed, staring at him. "Everyone's turned into their costumes."

"Hal-o-ween?" he repeated, carefully sounding out the syllables. He frowned and shook his head, saying, "Can't say I've ever heard of it." At a sharp retort from Div that was the equivalent of a slap on the head, he added, "Though that doesn't matter. How do you mean everyone's turned into…costumes, you said?"

"I was a ghost," she explained. "And you…you didn't say what you were. You didn't know."

He frowned. "Excuse me?"

_She must know you…well, not you_, said Div. _We must be one of these costumes brought to life she was talking about…that __**would**__ explain the wrongness I can sense. Also the rather muffled presence within you that's being suppressed._

The young man listened to two explanations at once, Div's and the girl's explanation of just whose body he was currently in. He frowned and shook his head, saying, "Well, I can't say I understand this but…it's not the oddest thing to ever happen to me."

While not the oddest, it is still quite odd.

"You know this place," he continued, "so I'll follow you…" He tilted his head and waited for her to supply a name.

"Willow," she said and he smiled, holding out a hand he knew she couldn't shake but held out anyway.

She made the movement with him, her hand passing through his gloved one and chilling it. "Dart Feld," he said. Then he looked around and asked, "Is there anyone else you know that is out here and under this…I suppose spell would be the word?"

Brown eyes widened and Willow gasped, "Buffy," before taking off running in the direction he'd been going. Dart sprinted after her, his armored hand on the hilt of his sword, and the other grabbing at the pouch around his neck to place it just inside the edge of his chest piece so it wouldn't get lost or bounced too much. Div hated being bounced and lashed out angrily whenever he was so he'd tried to avoid the pain of that.

_So now what?_ Asked Div. _We follow this girl and rescue her friends? Protect them? What of the spell? I'm starting to figure it out and I believe I can trace it back to its origin._

_You just want to go destroy something_, said Dart with a mental smirk.

Div grumbled at that and went silent for a moment. Then he growled, _No. I want to cause the one that dared use this magic pain. He called me and no one calls me! No one __**commands**__ me._

That was true enough. Dart didn't call him when he wanted his help. He _asked._

_We'll go,_ promised Dart, his eyes flicking towards Willow, who had a desperate expression on her face. _Once we help her._

Very well.

"_Buffy!_" shrieked Willow then, turning towards a frightened brunette collapsed against a tree with two hissing, yellow-eyed creatures inching towards her. She spun towards Dart, brown eyes wide and pleading for help but he was already moving. He unsheathed his sword, diving through her and rushing towards the pair threatening the brunette with quick steps. One turned at his approach and he swung the blade, switching to the flat rather than the edge when Div yelled, _Costume!_

The blade caught the creature full on in the face and the force Dart put behind the blow sent it staggering backwards. He jerked his arm backwards, intent on catching the other with the same trick but it hissed and ducked, causing the blade to sweep over its head. It came at it him with a snarl and he braced his feet, blocking its lunge and claws with his left arm. Bone rang on metal and he snarled mildly as he shoved it backwards and brought his sword around for a blow. He struck with the pommel of his sword and the creature collapsed, eyes rolling up in the back of its head.

A shrill scream made him spin to find the other creature going after the brunette again, Willow standing helplessly in front of her with an anguished expression on her face. He dove forward and swept out at the creature's legs with his sword, hoping it would catch. The flat of the blade nicked an ankle and it stumbled, giving him enough time to come upon it and slam his fist against the back of its skull with the force necessary to knock it unconscious. It collapsed and he scowled at it before sheathing his blade and looking up at Willow and the shivering brunette who was gazing at him in awe.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking to both of them. To Div he said, _Keep sharp. Somehow I don't think that just the unnatural things are going to be out tonight._

Well that's lovely.

"I'm fine," breathed Willow. Then she turned to the brunette and said, "Are you okay?"

"I…I…" began the brunette then she stopped. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she would have hit the ground hard if Dart hadn't stepped forward and caught her. He lifted her so she was leaning against him then looked at Willow, asking, "Is there somewhere near here where we can go? What with all these people being controlled by other forces, it's not safe for us to be outside."

She nodded and looked around, saying, "There's…there's a teacher that lives nearby. We can go there."

"Lead the way," he said as he hefted the limp girl into his arms. The redhead set off down what he supposed was a road and he followed, studying the strange things around him and wondering just how different this world was from his own.

* * *

Giles was thoroughly confused. Willow, Buffy, and Xander were at his house but the only one that was really there was Willow. Buffy – unconscious once more from a sharp blow from a certain gauntleted hand – thought she was an 17th century noblewoman and Xander…he was some fellow from a mystical world called Dart. How they'd come to be like this he didn't know but something seemed familiar. He just couldn't place it.

He looked over to where Willow was staring down at an open book, her fingers slipping through the pages every time she tried to turn one. The blonde man at the window would occasionally turn and flip the page for her before returning to the window. When he did it this time, his leather-clad hand fell to the hilt of his sword and he asked, "You wouldn't happen to know a dark-haired man whose heading in this general direction, would you?"

"Be more specific," said Giles.

"Dark hair. Dark clothes. Keeping to the shadows pretty well and glancing about like he's looking for something."

Giles scowled and Willow offered, "It might be Angel."

" 'Angel?' " Repeated Dart. He stared out at the shadow creeping man and Div noted, _Natural creature. Rather like those you fought off of the other girl. Yet…not._

"He's a vampire," explained Giles, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his shirt. Dart frowned at that, remembering that Willow had mentioned vampires being evil when she'd tried to explain things to him on their way to this man's home.

"I thought you killed vampires."

Willow piped up then before the older man could respond. "Angel's different. He has a soul."

Dart arched a blonde eyebrow then looked at Giles, asking, "Do we allow him in?"

"No," replied Giles before he opened the door and leaned against the frame, waiting for the ensouled vampire to make his approach. Angel did so after a few moments, slouching up out of the dark.

"Spike's out," he said as he came near, not glancing at Dart where he stood behind Giles, hand still on his sword. "He's taking advantage of the chaos tonight and is out looking for Buffy. I couldn't find her and I figured you…"

"She's here," said Giles, interrupting. The vampire breathed a sigh of relief then blinked as the Watcher continued, "Though you're not welcome to come in and see her."

Angel nodded then and said, "Understandable. I'll see if I can find anything out about what's going on. If I figure out something, I'll come back." With that he slipped into the shadows and was gone, though Dart could pick him out like he wasn't hiding at all. It was one of the good things about having Div in his head – he could see things and notice things he really shouldn't be able to.

"Two sets of eyes out there are better than one," said Dart as Giles started to walk towards the small kitchen. That made the older man stop and he continued, "There is nothing we can accomplish by sitting here."

Giles frowned at him then sighed and said, "I can't very well tell you not too. But…be careful. It isn't simply your life in danger here."

Dart knew the man was talking about Xander, the youth whose body he was currently residing in. He nodded and said, "I will be careful." With that he was out the door and gone, slipping into the dark far easier than Angel had gone. Giles stared after him then asked, "Willow…tell me again just what happened today…"

* * *

"Xander."

"Dart," replied the young man, not glancing over his shoulder from where he crouched. He was keeping an eye on a blonde vampire and his group of followers, Div grumbling about boredom as he kept his senses about the area making sure they weren't found. That was also the reason the vampire named Angel coming up behind him hadn't surprised him.

The vampire seemed thrown off balance by the silence coming from him so he turned and frowned at him, leaving Div to keep an eye on the vampires.

"Was there something you wanted?" he asked.

"I found something," explained Angel. "Ran into Cordelia – one of your…_their_ classmates. She gave me the address to the place where they got their costumes. She managed to be one of the lucky one's that didn't shop there."

Dart nodded and rose, deciding to leave the vampires behind. Figuring out just what was going on was more important…plus Div was getting antsy and he needed to move because his feelings were leeching over like they tended to do when they became intense.

"Is she safe?"

"Who?"

"The girl."

"Cordelia?" said Angel, obviously wondering why a stranger would care. He then nodded and replied, "Yes, she's safely at home now."

"Good," said Dart. He then strode past the vampire, heading away from the small cliff in the park where he'd watched the vampires and towards the road. "Where is this place?"

Angel followed him and pulled out what appeared to be a rough map of the town with a street and a building circled. Dart took it when it was offered and studied it for a moment, asking Div, _Think we can find this place on our own?_

_We've done well enough on our own_, he replied. _Even in this place we will find things well enough on our own. Though…I wouldn't mind dragging the vampire with us and dropping him._

_He's pretty much an ally, Div_.

_Ally to __**them**__. Certainly not to __**us**__. Nor to the boy you're inhabiting as I can smell the contempt coming off of him._

Dart wasn't even going to ask how Div could smell in the state he was in. He didn't need the headache that would no doubt follow such a question.

"I'll go on my own," said Dart, folding the map and tucking it into his belt. He then looked at Angel and added, "You should go back and watch that house. Make sure nothing happens to them."

The vampire started to say something then just nodded and set off into the night at a quick clip. Dart stared after him, well aware that Div had been seeping part of his presence into him and his eyes had started to glow red, then he sighed and asked, "Ready?"

I have been prepared to destroy something since we arrived here.

Dart snorted then looked down as a sickly, dark violet glow mixed with green shone from underneath the neck of his chest armor. Then the glow encompassed him and he was moving forward at a run before it had faded. Heavy, silver-gray armor covered his body but didn't slow him nor impede his movements as he rushed back towards that cliff. He leapt as he came to it and six wings, translucent and powerful, came open behind him, sending him skyward. The vampires scattered as he swept overhead and he made sure to circle back and clip the blonde one that was obviously the leader with his sword, rending a deep gash in his neck.

Then he was in the sky, high above the unfamiliar town he'd ended up in, and felt Div's presence flicker along the edge of his mind.

_I'm starting to sense a pattern_, growled Div, obviously wanting to shred something with claws he no longer possessed. _I believe I can sense where we need to go without you consulting that crude map._

_Where?_ Asked Dart, adjusting the broad wings set into the armor so they swooped down towards the town.

Give me a moment…

He waited then dove downward when Div cried, _There!_ Dart saw through the other's eyes for a moment and saw a building some distance away from them glowing a sickly green, thin strands of the same color stretching out from it all over town…and one even to him. No…there were two attached to him and the one that went to his chest was brighter than the other.

Somehow that wasn't surprising with Div being what he was.

The vision faded then and he was seeing normally again but he knew just what building he needed to go to. He swept down towards it, his speed increasing until he became a silver blur sweeping across the sky, likely going unnoticed by those below since most were probably as possessed as the youth Xander. The building came up swiftly at him and he shifted, wings flaring behind him, coming to a hover for a moment. Then he dropped, the claws that tipped the boots of the armor digging into the roof of the building, and unsheathed his sword, lifting it with the blade pointing down at the roof. Div channeled power into the blade and Dart waited until the metal glowed bright blue before he thrust it downward as far as he could. The roof split because of the power charged into the blade and he dropped down into a back room, taking in a statue sitting on a small pedestal.

Blue eyes darted around the room and found a man curled up against a wall, his breath coming in harsh gasps and his entire body shaking in fits. He was dark-haired and looked about the same age as Giles though his hair was streaked heavily with white.

Div?

_He's the caster, not the source,_ explained Div with a growl. _Something…that statue. That's it. Smash it. Smash it and break this fool's magic!_

Dart frowned and shifted towards the man, who flinched and pushed himself back against the wall he leaned against. He shook his head and said, "I'm not going to harm you. Not even if you're the one that cast the spell that did this."

The man lifted his eyes to stare at him and gasped.

"Y-you," he breathed, "y-you're the one that c-caused this."

_You shouldn't have dealt with forces far beyond the comprehension of a human!_ Shouted Div in a rage. His rage spilled over to Dart and he growled, tightening his grip on his sword as his eyes flared red again. Then he looked down at the man before lifting his other arm, which ended in a cannon, and pointed it at the bust.

"No more," he growled. "This ends."

The end of the cannon began to glow and he absently took note of the sound of bells from behind him. But he ignored it, pouring power into the cannon until it glowed incandescent white with blue along the edges, the man scrambling away in terror.

Div roared and Dart released the energy the cannon had gathered, the armor absorbing whatever recoil there was. The blast encompassed the statue and destroyed it, leaving nothing to give a hint that it had ever been there. It also completely demolished the back of the building and took out a collection of trees before it dissipated.

Giles burst into the back room in time to see a bright flash of sickly violet light then saw Xander on his knees, a blonde wig on the ground next to him. The youth grunted and struggled upright, his hand clenched around a small pouch that hung from his neck. He turned slowly and smiled at Giles, saying, "Hey, G-man. Looks like everything's a-okay again."

* * *

Three days after Halloween, Xander was sitting on the floor at the back of the library. He was, for once, dressed in fairly normal clothes – baggy khaki pants with a white t-shirt covered by a brown and green striped shirt – which surprised everyone that knew him. They were all used to his loud Hawaiian shirts – all of which he'd thrown out the day after Halloween.

Sighing, he reached to the neck of his shirt and tugged something out from under it. He pulled up the pouch from the costume and opened it, carefully allowing the dark bauble to roll out into his hand. Holding it up so a shaft of light pierced it, he stared at the serpentine eye that could be seen within in green and amber.

He then brought it back down and dropped his head to rest his forehead against his knee. "We," he said slowly in a low voice, "have a problem."

A snort sounded in his head and Div grumbled, _That, whelp, is fairly evident._

_

* * *

_**Author's Note**

To those that don't recognize Xander's costume, it's the main character – Dart Feld – from the Playstation RPG _The Legend of Dragoon_. And Div is the Divine Dragon, who becomes a Dragoon Spirit after you fight him. Not a spoiler for those who haven't played the game.


	2. Adaptation to Change

**Chapter 2**

"This isn't going to work," grumbled Xander as he walked towards Sunnydale High. "I can't keep acting like I am."

_So stop_, said Div in a bored tone. _Act different._

"I _am_ acting different," growled the youth through bared teeth. He glared down at the spot where the pouch rested underneath his shirt and continued, "Not only because of you but because of Dart. Do you have any idea what its like to wake up after dreaming one of his memories?"

_Yes_, he replied. _We were bound for ten years in a closer bond than any of the other Spirits – thoughts were shared on both sides. None of the others have the capability to speak to their bearers or to act as I do._

_Also, only a select few have the ability needed to carry me_, he added. He didn't mention that the youth was lucky he had only been dreaming some of Dart's memories. Eventually _his_ would leak through just as they had done with Dart – and his were far worse than anything Dart had seen.

Xander frowned then looked up, deciding to switch his next comment into thought as he got closer to the school. Sure he was stuck in with the odd crowd but he at least got _some_ respect from a few people. If he was caught talking to Div, he'd immediately go to the other end of the odd crowd – which he wouldn't mind but life might get a little more difficult than usual around the school then.

_Guess I'm one of them then, eh?_ He asked as he climbed the steps in front of the building.

Div, proud as he was, couldn't help but agree with that. _So it would appear_, he said slowly. _Though whether that is a matter of you already possessing the ability or gaining it during Dart's possession of you is a good question. Step to the left._

Xander stepped left almost immediately then turned and glanced back, watching as Larry kept walking and shoved Jonathan with his shoulder. The smaller dark-haired youth stumbled and dropped his books, managing to remain on his feet and glare as the jock continued on his merry way. Mild anger welled up in Xander as he moved to help the other youth, dusting off books as he picked them up and handed them back to their owner.

"You all right?" he asked as Jonathan shifted and resettled his books in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Jonathan, shaking his head. He then looked up at Xander and asked, "What's his problem? Usually he ignores me."

Xander shrugged at that, unable to answer the question.

"Beats me. Doesn't matter anyway. I'm sure he'll be over it by tomorrow and everything'll be back to normal again."

"Yeah." Jonathan then looked at his watch and gasped, "I'm late!" before sprinting off towards the front doors of the school. Xander arched an eyebrow in response then slowly ambled after him, hands thrust deep in the pockets of his dark, baggy pants.

_You don't seem in too much of a hurry_, observed Div as he opened one of the doors and slipped inside.

_I'm not_, said Xander as he turned down a hallway to his right. _What with helping Buffy and now this, school doesn't really seem that important anymore._

Div pondered that for a moment.

_A fair point_, he finally conceded. He then added, _You do realize that we will have to start working soon. I'm not going to be content just speaking with you._

_Yeah, I figured that from what I've caught from Dart's leftovers. Though what exactly are we going to be practicing?_

_Most importantly you learning how to use the skills I believe Dart may have left behind_, replied Div. _If I'm right, it won't take you long to work your sword skills up to half of what his were. The other thing is to teach you how to summon the armor. Though you had best not get snippy with me or I'll retreat into that stone and be silent for a hundred years._

Xander felt a twinge – like this conversation had been had before – and found himself replying quite before he could think.

_Heh, like you'd really go back to being unable to sense anything._ He blinked then asked, _Have you and Dart had that discussion before?_

_Many times. Hence why you replied in the same way he always did after the twelfth time I gave that threat._

The youth frowned as he entered his first class – history – and took a seat at the back. He rarely focused in this class anyway so the teacher wouldn't think anything of it if he sat at the back and stared out the window.

_Is it really like that?_ He asked. _In the stone?_

Div was silent for a moment then grumbled something about humans and their questions. Xander didn't think he was going to answer for a moment but the dragon proved him wrong a moment later.

_Yes. Not the sort of existence one would take on lightly._

The frown deepened as Xander leaned on his desk, chin cupped in his palms. His eyes were focused ahead on the teacher to give the slight appearance of him paying attention for Willow's benefit since she took a seat one desk up and a row over from him.

_You didn't consent to it like the other Spirits, did you?_

_No_, replied Div stonily. He then sighed and continued, _Though after ten years of being in this form I have come to accept – in small ways – that there is no other existence. I am trapped and the only way to do anything is to rely on humans._ The last word was said with a sneer and Xander noted it easily since he felt Div's ire at his state.

He bit his lip then asked, _Isn't there something you can do? To get some semblance of self-reliance back?_

Div seemed surprised at his question then snorted. _If there were_, he said, _I would have done such a thing long ago. Now banish this matter. We have more important things to dwell upon than my state of being._

_Like training._

_Indeed. Also what you are going to tell your friends when they see you in battle._

Xander scowled mildly at that and quickly hid the expression when he noticed Willow glancing at him over her shoulder.

_I…I was sort of hoping they wouldn't have to know_. He sighed and continued, _I'm afraid that Buffy will insist it's too dangerous and will try to keep me from using your help. Probably by taking the stone._

Div laughed uproariously at that, the sound harsh as it echoed through the youth's head yet…somehow…sort of comforting. He then chuckled darkly and said, _She will have a hard time of that, I assure you. While I am trapped within this damned stone, I haven't lost any of my power._

_That's reassuring_, said Xander, suddenly realizing that he'd actually lost track of time during the conversation and class had ended. Willow was on her feet and waiting for the rest of the class to filter out so she could head towards him. Judging from the look on her face, she'd noticed that he'd been completely elsewhere.

_Crap._

Div chuckled and said, _You should pay attention more it seems._

_Feh_, grumbled Xander. He rose and smiled goofily at Willow at she approached, saying, "Hiya, Wills."

"You weren't paying attention again," she said, frowning a bit at him.

"Do I ever?"

Willow frowned then said softly, "Xander…I'm starting to worry about you. You're getting distant. Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine, Wills," he replied smoothly.

"You're sure? I mean…your parents aren't…"

Xander frowned and hissed under his breath, "No! Christ, Wills, they're drunken louts but neither of them would ever lay a hand on me. Now can we stop talking about this? Everything's fine."

She frowned at him, biting her lip, then nodded. "Okay." Then she turned and walked out of the room, leaving him feeling like a complete heel.

"Wills…damnit."

_My apologies._

_For what?_ sighed Xander as he picked up his bag and left the classroom to head for his next one. Which was going to be about the same as the previous one.

Div sighed and replied, _For that._

_Not your fault._

Div remained silent at that and the youth continued on to his classes, trying to figure out how to apologize to Willow and how to get Giles to start teaching him to fight.

* * *

"Hey, G-man, can I ask you a question?"

"About what, Xander?" asked the Watcher, looking up from his writing to blink at the youth standing in his office door. The brunette shifted nervously for a moment then stilled and looked straight at him.

"Erm…can you teach me how to fight?"

Giles blinked in surprised then set his pen down carefully.

"When did this come up?"

"Well, it would be helpful to Buffy to have someone else that can actually fight next to her," said Xander. "I mean, all I can do right now is get tossed around like a ragdoll at best."

Giles frowned for a moment then said, "Very well. I do admit it would be useful to have someone else that can fight about."

The teenager's face split into a wide grin at that. "Great!" he chirped happily. "When can we start?"

"Classes have ended, correct?"

"Yup, just got out."

"Well, then…" The Watcher rose from his chair and removed his tweed coat, laying it over the back of his chair. He then smiled at the youth and said, "We'll start now then."

Xander nodded and followed him out of the office to the book cage where the weapons were kept. As Giles handed him the practice sword and he tested the weight of it, he felt Div smile.

_Good job, whelp._

Thanks, said Xander. He then looked at the Watcher and asked, "Do we have to practice with this? Its so…flimsy."

Giles blinked and looked at him curiously. "You'd prefer something heavier?"

"Erm…yeah. Guess it's a leftover from having Dart in my head."

"Understandable. But I think it's best if we start with these then move on to heavier weapons."

"Okay."

The elder man smiled then set about to explaining what the young man before him needed to know about the weapon he wielded and the various methods of using it. And slowly he started to show him, a bit surprised when Xander grasped it as easily as a duck to water.

The boy had potential. And if he wanted to put it to use, Giles made a promise to himself that he wasn't going to let that potential go to waste.

Through his new link with the youth, Div watched through his eyes as he and the older man began the business of sparring. He smiled a little as the boy unconsciously tried to use a few of Dart's moves and ended up with a slap on the wrist from the Watcher's blade.

_He can be taught_, the dragon said to himself. _Good. For I sense that my presence in this world will not be tolerated with peace for long._

This world was new to him but he could still sense the pulses and steady streams of its movement just as he had sensed that of Endiness. It would be some time before he could fully connect with this world's motion but it would occur the same as it had centuries before when he had been born.

And he could, even now, sense streams diverting from their course and coming darting towards them. It would be some time before they would arrive but…they inevitably would.

Looking back out of the boy's eyes, he frowned and rumbled, _I can only hope he will be ready for what is to come._


	3. The Beginning of a Big Change

**Chapter 3**

A bead of sweat rolled down Xander's forehead as he jogged around the block Sunnydale High was on for the seventh time. As he came back around to his starting point he managed to gasp, _How…does this…help?_

Div sniffed imperiously and replied, _For one thing it is getting you into shape._

_And…the other?_

_Who said there was another? I simply take enjoyment out of pushing you to your limits because it is what must be done. And watch out for that tree._

_Huh?_

Stars exploded in front of the teenager's eyes and he hit the ground in a groaning lump after slamming face first into a tree. Div sighed and said, Y_ou must pay more attention to your surroundings. Sensing something coming up behind you could mean the difference between life and death!_

Seething, Xander sat up then collapsed back to the ground as his head spun. As he lay there clutching at his skull in the hopes the marching band within would settle down, he hissed, _I know that!_

_Obviously not_, said the dragon snippily. _Else you would have noticed the tree as well as that foolish girl you insist on protecting coming up on you._

_Buffy?_

"Omigod, Xander, are you okay?!"

His friend's voice pierced his brain like a warning siren and he opened one eye to look blearily up at her. "I'll be fine, Buffy. Just…just don't shriek like that again."

The blonde sank down next to him in the grass and looked worriedly at him, asking, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he grunted as he slowly sat up. Inside his head he heard Div growl at her close proximity – he hadn't liked Buffy from the moment he'd heard she was in love with a vampire. Anything that fell in love with something over two hundred years dead, he said, didn't deserve his respect even if she was the Vampire Slayer.

Then again, Xander didn't like the situation much better though not for the same old reasons. He'd gotten over his crush on Buffy in the months that had passed since Halloween but he still cared about her. And he knew that Angel damn well should've kept his distance between the two of them and not let it go this far. It was going to end up blowing up in their faces in the end.

"What're you doing out here?" asked Buffy as she helped him back up.

"Running."

"Running?"

_She doesn't catch on fast, does she?_ Asked Div.

Xander snorted and replied, _It takes some time._

The dragon laughed hoarsely at that and the teen said, "I'm perfectly fine, Buff. And is there something wrong with me taking up running? I mean, all of us don't have perfect metabolism, y'know."

Buffy blinked then dropped his hand as she frowned, saying, "What's wrong with you lately, Xander? Ever since Halloween you've been snippy with all of us."

_Oh, I dunno_, thought Xander, _could it be the ancient dragon that can talk to me in my head and is far scarier than anything in existence?_

_Is that a compliment I hear?_ Queried Div with a smirk.

_Oh shut up._

Xander sighed then said, "Look, Buff, its not you. I just keep having a few stressful dreams since then – stuff from Dart's memories that isn't that pleasant. If I'm testy, its because of those." Arching an eyebrow, he asked, "Is that okay? Am I cleared to be annoyed because of some really freaking bad dreams?"

Excellent explanation, commented Div. The truth, yes, but still a fine explanation.

The blonde stared at him then said, "I'm sorry, Xander. I…I didn't know."

"Well I sorta wanted to keep it that way. Anyway, stop worrying about me, it's your birthday today! And there can be no worrying from the birthday person on a birthday – it's a rule."

The made the blonde brighten up and Div groaned, Oh, heavens forbid, we're going to have to attend that party with her, aren't we?

"Well," said Buffy with a smile, "if it's a rule, then I'd better go along with it, shouldn't I? You done running?"

"Yeah, after hitting a tree I think its time to take a break," replied Xander sheepishly. "I'll see you later, alright, Buff?"

"You bet, mister," she said, lightly punching his arm. "And no more running into trees!"

He laughed and called over his shoulder, "I'll do my best!" Then he sobered as he walked into the school, heading for the library where he'd left a change of clothes after an earlier sparring with Giles.

_Why_, he asked after a moment, _do I have the feeling something is about to go terribly wrong?_

_I am unsure_, replied Div quietly. _But I feel it as well. We should be cautious, whelp._

"Yeah," muttered Xander as he entered the library, ignoring the confused look he got from Giles for talking to himself, "like _that _wasn't obvious."

* * *

_I knew it!_ Roared Div, the volume of his voice making Xander wince. _I knew that 'Oh, its all right, he has a soul' tripe was too perfect!_

The youth forced down a laugh at the dragon's squeaky impression of Buffy's voice then said, _You don't have to gloat._

There was a pause then he got the reply, _Yes, I rather do, I think._ Xander shook his head then wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulders, feeling her shaking. He then looked down at his other hand that held the cross and frowned at it, knowing it wasn't the only thing that had fended off Angel.

The now evil vampire had sensed Div's staggering presence that he had bolstered around the youth in warning and fled in fear. If he hadn't had the dragon on his side, Xander really wasn't certain they would have survived that meeting.

"We're okay," he said reassuringly to Willow. She blinked up at him then nodded.

"We need to tell everyone," she murmured.

Xander frowned at the prospect then nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do."

* * *

"Back off, vampire!" roared Xander as he leapt down amongst the flames, having followed Giles after hearing about Ms. Calendar's death. He lashed out with the longsword in his hands and the vampire jumped back, snarling.

"You think you can take me, boy?" growled Angelus as Xander placed himself in front of Giles' unconscious form, sword at the ready.

"Not really," replied Xander, "but I'll damn well try."

_This was a foolish idea_, noted Div as he kept his senses open for other vampires. _If you were capable yet of fully using the armor…_

_Even if I was, that's not something I'd want to waste showing to Deadboy's evil twin_, hissed the youth. _Now shut up and let me concentrate, will'ya?_

The dragon became quiet just as Angelus leapt forward with a snarl, Xander sliding to the left as he struck out with the sword. A thin stream of blood flew through the air and the vampire roared angrily as the youth glared at him over his bloodied blade.

"Worthless brat!" he roared as he charged again.

Xander's heart raced but he instinctively dodged to the side, managing to land a hard blow with the flat of the blade against the vampire's forearm. Bone snapped with a crackling pop and as Angelus roared in pain, the youth gave a little smile at his success. He had gotten good at stopping all thought and focusing everything on the battle – not a great, but he was getting there.

"Worthless?" he taunted. "Looks like that might be you, Angie. I mean, c'mon, you're losing to a human? Wasn't aware the vampire community looked up to that."

_What have I told you about taunting a stronger enemy?!_ Roared Div as Angelus abruptly sped forward and Xander took a partial punch to the shoulder, just barely managing to dodge the strike.

_Only do it when you're sure to win?_ Replied the youth.

The dragon sighed and grumbled, _You are as bad as Dart._

_Thanks…AAAH!_

_Xander! _Shouted Div as Angelus finally caught the youth, hurling him back into a metal staircase with enough force to break his spine. The dragon was surprised when there was no breaking of bones, only severe pain, and Xander was on his feet again, grinning through a cut on his lip.

"That all you got?" asked the youth as he steadied himself.

_That stupid girl is coming_, hissed Div in his ear. _You only need to hold out for a moment._

_Good. 'Cause I don't think I can actually walk out of here on my own._

Div cursed in a language Xander could only assume was Draconic then the youth swiped at Angelus, keeping him back away from him. The vampire then grinned and started towards Giles' fallen form with a sinister grin…only to be cut off by Buffy landing in front of him. He immediately fled with his tail between his legs, yelling back at them as he took off through the part of the building blazing the most. Xander smiled at her in greeting then slumped against the staircase railing with a grunt.

"Ow," he mumbled then looked up at Buffy as she came towards him, holding up Giles' unconscious form.

"You're out of your mind," she commented then reached out to help him lean on her. Xander accepted the help since he really couldn't walk – the blow from the stairs had made his legs go numb – and grunted.

He replied, "I didn't know if you'd make it. And, y'know, G-man matters to all of us, Buff, not just you."

"I know."

Slowly they moved out of the burning building then Buffy asked, "Where'd you learn from? And why did you think you could take on Angel?"

"Angelus," corrected Xander stonily. "He's not Deadboy anymore – and, God help me, I'd rather have His Broodingness back rather that his evil twin."

"Please answer the questions."

"I asked Giles if he'd teach me," snapped the youth in annoyance. "Because much as you might think you need to work alone, you need us. And having another good hand at a sword could help you out."

Buffy frowned then murmured, "But you could get hurt."

"And that's my fucking choice."

She blinked, stunned by him cursing, then nodded. Xander grunted then hissed, "As to why I fought Nutcase in there…I know I can't beat him. Not with the limited skill I have now, hell, maybe not ever. But Giles was in there and I had to try."

"I get it."

"No, Buff, I don't think you do yet. Thanks for the rescue."

He pushed himself away from her, wobbling slightly, and ignored Div's rumblings at him for being an idiot. Buffy frowned at him and asked, "Are you sure you should be walking?"

"I'll be fine," said Xander even though he only just could feel his legs again. "Besides you'll get more exhausted carrying two people."

She nodded and they continued walking in silence until he glanced sideways at her.

"There's one thing you really need to remember, Buff," he said softly.

Turning to look at him, she asked, "What's that?" Then the steel she saw in her friend's eyes, which abruptly changed from those she knew to a different pair, surprised her. A battle hardened pair of eyes, willing to do whatever it took.

"Angelus isn't Angel," growled Xander. "And there might be no way to get your boyfriend back – even then, if you're just going to go back to that, I'd rather Deadboy not come back."

"Xander!"

"Let me finish, damnit!"

Buffy was stunned into silence and he spat, "I don't care what your feelings are for Deadboy, he's not home anymore. And if you don't kill him, I fucking will. Even if it costs me my own life, I am tired of this bullshit."

"I love him."

"Sometimes you have to do things to the people you love that you don't want to."

_You saw…_ began Div and Xander quickly cut him off with,_ I don't want to talk about it._

"Xan," began Buffy but he shook his head, not wanting to hear any more excuses or defenses of Angel. He hurt, he wanted to sleep for a few days, and he was tired of trying to wait until she could deal with her shit.

"I've said all I've meant to say," he growled stonily, ending the conversation there.

When they ended up at Buffy's house, he slumped against the doorway as mother and daughter bustled Giles' unconscious form aside. He fell asleep standing up then was nudged awake by someone taking the sword from his limp hand and looked up into Joyce's eyes. On his own a few weeks ago, he'd taken it upon himself to tell her the truth. It had been hard for her to believe and take but after a long talk (and leading her to the edge of the cemetery to watch the rise and staking of a vamp), he'd managed to make her understand. Understand just what her daughter did almost every night. Because she deserved to know, even if Buffy thought she didn't and wasn't even aware that she knew. Or didn't want to imagine she knew since her mom didn't ask any questions when they gad staggered in.

"Mrs. S…" he began but she cut him off and pulled him away from the door, leading him into the dining room. She made him sit down and left, coming back with a first aid kit a moment later. He winced, about to say he didn't need anything, but the look on her face stopped him – it was a frantic, begging look, and he couldn't stand to see it. So he tried to tug off his shirt then choked down a yelp of pain and Joyce helped him to pull it off.

The shoulder where he'd taken the punch from Angel was a mass bruise but the bruises around his spine where he had hit the staircase were going to be far worse. Joyce peered at each and every one then said, "You're lucky you didn't get hurt any worse."

He turned his head from where he leaned on the table so she could see his back clearly, too tired to be embarrassed anymore, and mumbled, "I couldn't do nothing, Mrs. S."

"No," she said softly, reaching out to gently brush hair away from his forehead, "no, you couldn't."

She slowly packed up the first aid kit since he didn't need it then heard softly, "I can't just sit back and do nothing. Just like Buff found out she couldn't. Not knowing what we do."

Joyce turned towards him, staring for a long moment at the battered and tired young man. Then she smiled, saying, "Thank you."

"For wha?"

"For being there for Buffy," she replied. Then she moved forward and helped him up despite his slight protests of being able to move on his own. Silently, she led him into the living room and he collapsed onto the couch face first as they neared it. Smiling, Joyce eased a pillow under his head and covered him up with a blanket, almost unable to believe him. That he was really as nice a boy as he was – because you heard things in any town and she had heard one too many things about Tony Harris. How that man had ended up with a son like this she'd never know, but she was grateful for it.

"Goodnight, Xander," she murmured, gently patting his head before she moved to go back upstairs where her daughter waited with Giles.

Div watched the woman go, finding she was one human he actually thought he could like. Unlike her daughter, there was just something about her…something likeable that he couldn't quite resist.

Sighing, he twisted above Xander's sleeping form in his invisible body, unseen to all eyes in this small shade of his former self. He had been serious when he had said the teenager was just like Dart – they shared many of the same traits, both the one's that the dragon liked and had disliked about his blonde bearer. It was strange to find two so similar but very different people as the bearers of the stone that held his spirit.

Then he frowned and looked towards the window, finding the female vampire Drusilla smiling at him through the curtains. Not at Xander, at _him_.

"Dragon protects Kitten," she murmured through the glass, forcing him to remember the love spell Xander had managed to get in the middle of weeks ago. "But dragon's not all powerful. He can't protect Kitten forever."

_Begone_, growled Div, curling protectively over Xander. _His safety is no matter to you, vampire._

Scarily, she actually heard him and smiled.

"Good dragon," breathed Drusilla as she pulled away from the glass. "That's the spirit."

_Why do you care?_

She smiled at him. "He's my kitten."

Div frowned then watched her disappear into the night, deeply confused by the female vampire's actions. But he would remember it because it might be something Xander could play on, a wedge to throw between their enemies.

What worried him was that someone like her could see himself.

Grumbling, he curled up across the couch, settling his invisible form around and over Xander. Much as the whelp might annoy him, he had come to like him.

And he was going to use everything in his power to protect him.


	4. The Shit Hits the Fan

**Chapter 4**

"Ready for round two, brat?" asked Angelus as he smiled. Xander looked up from his seat outside Buffy's door in the hospital then slowly stood, calmly staring the vampire down.

He then looked down and commented, "Flowers? For me? Aw, you shouldn't have."

Div snorted then cautioned, _Careful._

_He's not going to do anything here_, replied Xander.

Angelus growled then hissed, "I could kill you in an instant."

"And guess what, you'd have every person in the hospital on you. Plus our ever useful Sunnydale PD might be worthless when it comes to vamps but real murder…they're pretty good at seeing that. So, c'mon, Angie. Let's have it if you dare."

The vampire glared at him then threw the flowers at his chest, Xander not even bothering to catch them.

"The ever valiant White Knight," sneered Angelus. He then leaned close and spat, "You still love her."

"Yeah," said Xander coldly. "Buff's family – something you nor your better half will ever be."

Angelus laughed at that, "Better half? Oh, you'll pay for that, brat. I'll take everything out of your hide soon enough."

Xander smiled, cocking his head to the side, and calmly replied, "You can try."

The vampire, unnerved by the youth's calmness, laughed again then left. After he disappeared around a corner, Xander bent down to pick up the half-crushed flowers and threw them into a nearby trashcan. He settled back down into his chair then and sighed.

_That was fun._

_Well done_, complimented Div. _Now, since we're sitting here let us run through the process of how to summon the armor again. Eventually I am going to manage to beat it into your thick skull._

* * *

"So they have a demon that can suck the world into Hell and we have…us," mused Xander to himself as he sorted through the contents of the weapons cabinet in the library.

_So it would seem_, replied Div. The dragon seemed to frown as he said, _This would be much simpler if you could entirely put the armor to use._

_I've been trying hard, y'know._

_Yes, I do. And it is strange that you are learning it so slow… Dart never had a problem summoning it._

Xander shrugged as he glanced between the three longswords hanging on the wall then chose one, hefting it experimentally. After a moment, he nodded and grabbed its scabbard before stepping out of the cage and leaving it open since Oz would be arriving soon for his wolfie time in it.

Lifting the sword, he saluted an invisible opponent before moving through a practice of drills that were from both Giles' teaching and Dart's memories. _Well_, he said as he moved into a lunge, stabbing his invisible opponent, _Dart also had a spirit previously that activated everything on its own._

Div snorted at that, saying, _Varusth was always spoiling things by helping them too much along. The fool._

Xander smiled then stumbled as the dragon softly said, _We need to talk about her._

"No," growled the youth out loud before he viciously swiped at the air then darted into another drill, flicking the tip of the blade towards his invisible opponents knee.

_You…_

_I think I have the capability to handle it, Div!_

The dragon sighed and was so silent Xander thought the conversation was over. Then as he finished the last drill and swept the blade up into another salute to his 'opponent' Div spoke again.

_It was neither your fault nor Dart's that Shana died._

Xander stiffened, his hand tightening on the hilt of the sword. He bared his teeth and growled out aloud, "_Don't._"

"Don't what?" asked a voice from the door and he turned to see Oz standing there, one eyebrow arched. Turning away from the werewolf, the youth hissed, "Its nothing."

Oz frowned at him, wondering if he should talk to him. Willow had been expressing concern about her friend of late but… Shrugging, he moved towards the book cage and went in, waiting for Xander to come and lock it.

It wasn't his place to say anything.

Xander sheathed the sword and laid it on the table before he went to the cage, locking the door behind Oz securely. He ignored Div's voice as he sat down at the table and picked up a book as he settled into his wolf watching duties.

* * *

"_Hell no!_" snapped Xander, pushing himself away from the wall in Willow's hospital room. His fists clenched at his sides as he growled, "You're here, Giles is _gone_, Kendra's _dead_, and Buffy's on the run from the _police_. We are not doing something so stupid again!"

"Xander, I know I can do it!" insisted Willow. "I can give Angel back his soul!"

"I don't give a shit," he snarled. "Deadboy can _rot _for all I care since he never should have allowed for his and Buffy's relationship in the first place."

The redhead frowned in response and insisted, "I can do it." She then pointed at her herself, saying, "Look, resolve face."

Xander just stared at her then turned away, moving towards the door. He paused at it and shook his head before softly muttering, "Fine. Do it. But I'm not having any part in it."

Looking over his shoulder at her, he apologized, "Sorry, Wills," then was gone out the door, leaving Willow, Oz, and Cordelia to deal with the soul restoration spell if they wanted to.

_What are you planning on doing?_ Asked Div quietly. After his failed attempt at talking to Xander two days before, they had been walking on eggshells around each other.

_First, I need a sword_, replied Xander. _Then…_

_Then?_

The youth smiled coldly, which was one thing Div had found different between Dart and Xander. His newest bearer had hidden dark depths that hadn't even been dipped into yet whereas Dart had none so deep.

_Then we need to have a chat with Drusilla, I think._

* * *

"Hiya, Dru," greeted Xander as he leaned against the supporting pole of the playground swing set. He had changed since the hospital, now wearing dark blue jeans tucked into a pair of combat boots he'd bought for his previous soldier costume preparation and a long-sleeved black shirt with a leather tunic that had once been a jacket belted over it. Thanks to Dart's having to know how to fix patches in his own clothes, it hadn't been hard to turn the jacket into a rough tunic.

It just seemed more…natural to be wearing something like it.

The vampire smiled at him and purred, "Hello, Kitten. And, Dragon." She then fixed Xander with her mad gaze and said, "You want to kill Daddy."

"Yeah, I do," he replied, pushing himself away from the swing set, not even blinking at the fact that she was aware of Div. Somehow that made too much sense. "The rest want to return his soul. I think it's a stupid idea."

"So harsh, Kitten. And what does the silly blonde say about such nasty nasty thinkings?"

Xander shrugged, replying, "If Buffy can do it, I've got no problem. If she can't bring it on herself to kill Angelus, I will."

Drusilla smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Kitten speaks so harsh," she murmured. "Has he ever killed someone he loves?"

The image of a brunette woman writhing in pain flashed through Xander's mind for an instant, her body wracked by a disease no medicine or magic could fix. He closed his eyes, turning his face away, and painfully replied, "Yes," as the memory replayed despite his efforts to ignore it. The blade went deep into her heart and he softly breathed, "I'm sorry."

_Xander_, said Div softly and he felt the dragon's presence brush against his in comfort, feeling almost as though coils of smooth scales were wrapped reassuringly around him. Which, if he could see the dragon as Drusilla could, he would have seen that that was just was Div was doing, his head resting on the youth's right shoulder.

_I'm okay._

"I see," murmured the vampire. Then she was suddenly in front of him, one hand clasping his cheek and Xander started, staring down at her. But, to his credit, he didn't move away. "Very well. I will lead Kitten to Daddy."

"Just like that?" asked Xander.

"Kitten should know I will do anything for him. Miss Edith says he will move things, make things change…"

The youth frowned at her crazy talk then said, "Okay. Take me there, Dru. And then…"

"Then?" queried the vampire as she turned away, dress sweeping in the dirt.

"Take Spike and leave town."

Drusilla smiled then turned around to kiss his cheek before he could react. "Of course, Kitten," she purred then turned away, smiling as she walked off with him at her heels. She, of course, knew what her Spikey was doing – all planning with the Slayer. Well she had plans of her own!

And her Kitten, she mused, turning to look back at Xander, was so much fiercer than the Slayer.

* * *

"Take Giles and get out of here, Xander," hissed Buffy.

"No," he replied stonily. "'Fraid I'm sticking with you, Buff. But…" He glanced behind him and the Slayer started as Drusilla came into view.

"Xander…"

"Trust me, she's not going to do anything."

The vampire smiled and said in a singsong voice, "I'll take the old man away for Kitten. But you have to promise to let things go, Kitten."

Xander nodded and Drusilla easily lifted Giles up, moving away as Buffy exclaimed, "Kitten? Xander, what…"

"I think we have more important things to worry about," growled the young man, nodding towards the door behind them where they could hear the sound of fighting. "Your ally is already on the move."

"My…how the hell do you know about all this?!"

"Just go, damnit!" roared Xander. When she didn't move, he drew his sword and snarled, "I will go in there and kill Angelus dead, Buff, without any qualms. Don't force me to do that. You get _one _chance."

She stared at him then burst through the door, breaking in on the fight between Angel and Spike. Xander stepped in after her and quickly dispatched the stray weaker vampires before he caught Spike's collar as the vampire tried to get past him.

"Drusilla is waiting for you outside," he hissed softly. "Both of you get the hell out of Sunnydale and stay out, you got that? Oh, and you touch Giles again, and not even Buffy will be able to protect you from me, Spike."

The blond stared at him for a moment then smirked. "Whelp's all grown up then. You'd better pay attention…the girl's losing."

Xander whipped around to the fight to indeed see Buffy sent sprawling backwards, giving Angelus the opportunity to step towards the statue and the sword in it. Cursing, he lunged forward and screamed, _Div!_

_I'm not giving you a crutch!_ Snapped the dragon in response. _Not even to save the world!_

_Damn you, Div!_

Focusing, he managed to bring together a smaller approximation of the Divine Armor. It was only a thin but strong silver armor that resembled medieval half plate with one pair of wings instead of the six that usually adorned the armor. And there was no cannon engulfing the left arm, which was Div's real reason for saying it was a failure since that had been his main weapon before.

But the armor made Xander somewhat faster and stronger as well as allowing him a slight flight.

He leapt and half-flew across the room as Buffy rose and kicked Angelus away from Acathla with one clawed boot, landing in a half crouch in front of it. The vampire came snarling back up then paused in confusion.

"What the _hell _are you?"

"A Dragoon," replied Xander honestly. He then frowned and glanced at the statue next to him, realizing that the sword was gone. "Sonova…"

_On the floor!_ Shouted Div. _Damn it all…_

Angelus grinned and lunged for the sword, rolling and picking it up in time to catch the strike of Buffy's sword against it. He then ducked back and only just parried Xander's blade as the youth barreled in, wings tucked against his back.

"We're having a talk after this," spat Buffy as they came to stand beside each other.

"How do we stop it?" asked Xander, fully ignoring her comment. "Put the sword back in?"

She frowned then replied sadly, "It needs the blood of the one who started it."

_So we kill him and the world does not become pulled into Hell_, snipped Div. _I see no problem._

_Neither do I_, growled Xander. _But she does._

_Heavens forbid…women!_

"Buff," he started only to be cut off by Angelus snapping, "Come on, Slayer! Or are you going to hide behind your White Knight there?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed and she hissed, "Stay out of this, Xander," before she strode forward and the fight started again in earnest. Xander regarded the pair of them and growled before muttering, "If you want something done right…"

_That's the spirit._

With another growl, the youth rushed into the fight, pushing Buffy aside and meeting Angelus' blade with his own. Then he twisted them to the side and landed a hard punch to the vampire's head with an armored fist that sent him careening. Wrenching the sword away from him, Xander lunged forward with it, sinking the blade deep into Angelus' stomach before drawing it back out again.

He then spun towards the ever-widening portal before Acathla and asked, _You think this'll work?_ As he raised the sword for a downward thrust.

_As to that, I do not know_, replied Div as he widened his power around them and essentially hooked them into the dimension. _But I am not allowing us to get drawn into Hell if that infernal creation wishes a sacrifice._

_Nice to know. Here goes!_

Xander saw Angelus crumple like a string-cut doll out of the corner of his eyes then he drove the blade hard into Acathla's mouth, right into the dead center of the portal. There was a shudder from the statue then as suddenly as a snap of the fingers, the portal was gone.

The world was saved…and for once without casualties, it looked like from Buffy's hugging a confused looking Angelus.

_Angel_, corrected Div and Xander grunted in response before he let the armor fade away. It disappeared in swirls of dark violet sparks and he turned towards the door, set to leave the pair of them alone. Then Buffy's voice snapped after him and he paused.

"You told my mom," she said accusingly. "And what was that, Xander? What have you been messing with?"

"Yes," he replied without turning around, "I told her months ago 'cause she deserved to know, not to be lied to. And you know what she did, Buff? Sure she had a hard time believing but she thanked me. Thanked me. For not only being there for you but for having the damn balls to tell her the truth."

There was a paused then, "You didn't answer the second question."

Xander spun on his heels and snapped, "I am using what was given to me and that I am allowed to use through the permission of its owner. You can yell and scream and bitch all you want, but I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to back down."

"This isn't your fight," insisted Buffy.

"This became my fight the moment Jesse got turned by those bloodsuckers. And don't you dare tell me what to do, Buffy."

He turned to leave then stopped, adding, "Oh, and break that shit off. Now. You and Deadboy need to stop this – you know what will happen now and the consequences. Deal with the loss."

"Xander!"

Xander ignored her fully and turned, leaving without another word. He found Giles sitting outside with a gift tag pinned to his collar that read 'To Kitten'. Shaking his head at Drusilla's antics, he pulled the tag off then carefully levered the Watcher up, pulling one arm across his shoulders.

"C'mon, G-man," he murmured as the man groaned. "We gotta get you to the hospital."

As they began their walk, Div said softly, _She won't let up. Not until she discovers the full story. And you know she'll tell the rest._

_I'm not worried_, replied Xander. _If Buff wants to play like that…okay. I'm not about to let anyone wrench you away from me, Div – a thousand years in silence or as some experiment isn't something I want to happen to you._

The dragon smiled at that.

_Now that is a trait I like in you. And you do realize she is following us with the vampire, yes?_

_Yup. Confrontation at the hospital._

_So it would seem_, mused Div as he turned his head to watch the pair following them with narrowed eyes.

* * *

"So the stone holds the spirit of a dragon," repeated Buffy as they stood around Willow's bed, waiting to hear about news on Giles. She then extended her hand to Xander, saying, "Give it here."

"Buffy!" exclaimed Willow in shock as Xander laughed.

"'Give it here?'" he repeated. "Like hell."

"Its hurting you, Xander, you have to see that."

"No, this is hurting _you_," he hissed, leaning towards her. "It just rubs you the wrong way to think the rest of us might not be defenseless."

Buffy looked startled at that then frowned determinedly. "Fine, I'll take it then. Where is it?"

Xander laughed again at that, saying, "You really think he's going to let you do that, Buff? Div's ancient and powerful…plus, he really doesn't like you."

"See, he's already affecting you!"

_Idiot child_, grumbled Div. _I cannot believe you once thought to love her._

_I do love her. Just not like that anymore. Even if she can be…_

_Annoying?_ Offered Div.

_You got it_, replied Xander. He then ducked Buffy's swipe at him and moved a few steps back, lifting his fists in front of him. She blinked then said, "Xander, just give me the stone. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Yeah, so you say," he growled back. "You want to take Div away. Well let me tell you what that would do to him, Buff. He'd live in darkness, unable to see anything or anyone. The world would go and pass him by without him ever knowing. And imagine if someone found out how to harness his power, bypassing his own defenses and control? Hmm? A centuries old dragon known as the King of Dragons? I think I'd rather have him in my hands than somewhere else. Or alone in that cold stone."

Xander shook his head as he took another step back and glanced behind him at the window. If need be he could summon the armor and bust through – glide down to the ground and run…

"He doesn't deserve that," he finished. "And I'm not letting that happen if I can help it."

Buffy frowned, shaking her head, saying, "I can't believe that. I think he's fooling you, Xander! And causing you to deal with Drusilla! Drusilla!"

Xander snorted and growled, "You plotted with Spike. And after that love spell I got tangled up in, there's nothing that crazy vampire wouldn't do for me. It's creepy but, hey, I'm willing to use whatever advantage I've got."

"I'm not," said Buffy, holding out her hand again. "Please…give me the stone."

He sighed at that and looked at Willow, who was watching the confrontation with wide eyes. She met his gaze then and he said softly, "Guess that's it then, eh, Wills? Buff doesn't want to listen."

"Xan…" she began but he smiled and her voice trailed away.

"It'll be okay." Turning to Buffy, Xander stated, "Guess that's that then."

"Xander!" snapped Buffy. "Stop it!"

"Alright," said Xander, "I'll make you a deal. I'll give up Div but you have to give up Deadboy."

_What are you doing?_ Asked Div. _The girl can't…ah._

_Exactly._

She stared at him then snapped, "No! Just give me the stone!"

"Not happening."

Buffy growled then lunged at him only to be blinded by a bright flare of light from underneath his shirt. And just as earlier, he was wearing the silvery armor only now she could actually get a clear look at it.

Pauldrons adorned each shoulder, leaving a darker section of mail between each and a gauntlet that ended in fingers with the tips curved into claws. The silver armor protected his neck and chest with six dark gems surrounding a larger one set off to the left over his heart, the armor flowing down into locking plates that separated and moved to the side, ending just at his hips. The same dark mail on his arms covered his legs down to the boots that rose to his knees, which heavily resembled the clawed feet of something reptilian. There was some sort of metal headband that appeared on his forehead with two of the dark gems set into it just above his left eye.

And most amazing were the wings folded behind him, two great silver spikes with the actual wing parts made of great golden feathers almost. They looked flimsy, like a butterfly's wings almost.

Buffy staggered back and heard Willow gasp aloud in awe from her bed, breathing, "Oh, Xander." She then scowled and hissed, "That's a 'no' then."

"This is a 'no'," confirmed Xander, his eyes cold as he regarded her. "And here I thought you'd get it, Buff. That I want to help. But you don't care about that, do you?"

"I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I get that. What you don't get is that it's my _choice_."

Shaking his head, he turned and pushed back the blinds on the window, unlocking it and sliding it open. Pulling himself up onto the windowsill, he looked over his shoulder at the Slayer and sighed.

"When you finally figure that out, I'll be there. I'm not leaving and I'm not backing down." His whole face went stony as he added, "But you try and take Div from me again, that's it."

With that, he pushed himself fully out the window and leapt, spreading the single set of wings wide to catch the air. Despite its only half-there state, the Divine armor was still heavier than other Dragoon armors might have been and one set of wings only allowed for gliding and not true flight. As he hit the ground and started to walk off, the armor faded in a cloud of violet sparks and he sighed heavily.

"Damnit," growled Xander, lifting a hand to fist in his dark hair.

_How exactly are you planning on avoiding her?_ Asked Div. _And you should find another place for the stone. If she manages to take notice, I don't want her trying to snatch me off your neck and end up choking you._

"I'll figure something out," came the mumbled response. "Just…damnit, let's just go home. I need to sleep."

_Very well._

Div frowned and curled restlessly around his bearer, hating the tense feeling overtaking him. They had gotten rid of one foe…but he had the sense they were too soon going to get a new one. And amongst this debacle with the blonde girl, things were going to get interesting.

He doubted, as well, that Xander was going to get much of the sleep he wanted in the months to come.


	5. How to Hide a Dragon

**Chapter 5**

A supernaturally strong fist thumped into an armored chest and the vampire howled in pain as two of his fingers snapped with loud cracks. He stumbled backwards and a clawed boot hit him in the stomach hard, making him stumble and fall to the ground. When he looked up, trying to get his hands underneath him to push himself up, a silver blur descended towards his throat with a whistle of air and everything went dark.

Xander grunted as the vampire's body and his severed head turned to ash then flicked the blade of his sword to the side to get rid of any residue. He straightened as he sheathed the blade at his side then asked,_ Sense any more?_

_It would seem the rest were smart enough to flee_, answered Div with a smirk.

The young man smiled then concentrated on the light, silver armor he wore. Since the fight with Angelus he still had not been able to summon the complete armor but he had been working with it, reshaping what he had into something more…modern…since Div had suggested it would help him practice. He now wore what appeared to be a silver vest, modeled after Kevlar ones he had seen on television and in movies. The heavy gauntlets he had been wearing had become armored bracers with the part that covered his hand turned flexible to become a glove with reinforced knuckles. And the heavy, clawed boots were the last part of the armor that remained in his new modernized outfit though they were shorter and only came up to the tops of his calves as well as being built slimmer. Since he still could not manage more than one set of wings, Div had helped him to get rid of them – an etched pattern of them on the back of his vest was how they made their appearance now.

On occasion, though, he could manage to summon the cannon the engulfed his left arm from hand to elbow which made Div happy. He wasn't particularly fond of it even with how powerful it was – he liked having both of his hands.

As the armor faded, Xander moved towards the edge of the cemetery, heading for home and his bed. _That was seven tonight across three cemeteries_, he noted. _How many does that make since the beginning of summer?_

_Almost thirty_, replied Div in a satisfied tone. _A dozen more than the Slayer if we believe the old man._

_Giles doesn't agree with what she wants to do_, said Xander with a shake of his head, referring to Buffy's continued plot to separate him and Div.

The dragon snorted at that. T_hen why does he not take the girl to hand? She is his Slayer, correct? He should have control of her!_

_Um, Div, newsflash – there's not much of any one that can control Buffy beside **Buffy**._

_Someone should_, growled Div. Xander then 'felt' what he had come to recognize as the dragon rolling his eyes (or the closest approximation a dragon might do). _Speaking of the annoyance herself…to your right coming in fast._

_Good_, hissed Xander, continuing to walk as though nothing was wrong. Then, just as she broke through the line of trees to his right, he sidestepped and Buffy barreled past him like a bull out of control. It didn't take long for her to spin to a stop and fling herself back towards him, her eyes intent on his throat. The young man slid under one swipe and blocked a low punch with a forearm, the strike making it go entirely numb. He staggered a step and then one of her hands was gripping the collar of his shirt, the other tugging at the cord around his neck.

"No!" he protested and tried to pull his knee up into her stomach. Buffy pushed him backwards as he did so and stepped back before his hit could connect, the cord around his neck snapping as she pulled it with her. As Xander's other foot slipped out from under him and he hit the ground hard on his back and lay there groaning for a moment, he heard her sigh.

"This is too dangerous for you to have, Xander," she said, holding up the pouch in her hand, the broken cords dangling loosely.

He grunted as he slowly pushed himself up and hissed, "Give…him back."

Buffy shook her head sadly and turned away from him, walking away without even bothering to help him up. Anger smoldered in Xander's chest as he got to his feet and he yelled after her, "You can't make decisions for me, Buff!"

The Slayer turned back to regard him with sad, pitying eyes before saying, "Looks like I have to. You were just hurting yourself, Xander, and you were only going to get hurt more. I couldn't let you do that."

She started to turn to leave but was stopped by his sudden laughter. Buffy blinked as she found Xander was leaning against one of the headstones with one hand pressed to his side as he laughed hysterically. When he finally looked up and brushed tears from his eyes, he smiled.

"Oh, Buff," he purred, all panic that had been in his voice gone but all of the anger left. He had really hoped she hadn't tried doing this. "Did you really think I was going to make it _that_ easy?"

"What?"

"Look in the pouch," answered Xander as he straightened, one hand moving to rest on the hilt of the sword belted at his hip.

Buffy's eyebrows rose then she carefully slipped open the pouch she had taken from him, trying not to touch what was inside. It might poison her mind as well if she…

_What the…?_

Stunned, she opened the pouch wide and turned it over, dumping its contents into her hand. A regular rock roughly in a circular shape tumbled into her open palm and she stared at it in shock for a long moment. Then she slowly turned to look at Xander, who was smiling grimly at her.

He shook his head as he quietly said, "Did you really think I was going to keep it in the pouch when you knew where it was?"

"Where is it now?" she demanded, tossing the rock and pouch aside.

Xander laughed then his brows furrowed slightly as he cocked his head to the side. There was no brilliant glow like there had been the last time she had seen him summon the armor. It simply appeared in its new shape in a cloud of violet and amber motes that continued to dance in the air around him for seconds before fading.

"Safe," answered the young man as he eyed the Slayer.

"Where?" snarled Buffy angrily as she took a step towards him.

With a grin, he asked, "And why should I tell you? Going to try to take it away from me?"

She nodded and he laughed.

"Oh, Buff," said Xander with a shake of his head. "You can't. Not unless you want to gut me."

"Wh-what?"

Smiling, he let the armor fade away then lifted his shirt and light jacket that he wore to show a fading glow underneath the skin along the left side of his stomach where there was a circular, partially healed scar. Buffy stared, shock and realization settling onto her face, and she gaped.

"Y-you…it…its in you!"

_Perceptive one, isn't she?_ Noted Div sarcastically.

"Yes," replied Xander as he lowered his shirt and jacket. "Seemed like the best place to put it with you trying to hard to get it. And where it safest."

"How…?"

"Well it involved some ice to numb the spot, a knife dipped in boiling water to disinfect it, and me being fucking determined to not let you get your hands on Div." The young man shrugged casually as he continued, "Hurt like a bitch but, ah, the things I do for friends."

_I wasn't aware it was considered a friendship when one can only be heard in the others head_, commented the dragon. Xander could feel that the ancient being was rather touched by being called a 'friend'. Though Div would never admit to such a thing.

_Bah, semantics._

Div laughed and Xander smiled at Buffy as she continued to stare blankly at him. "Well," he finally said as he starting walking to move past her, "if that's all I'm going to go home and crash."

Before he got completely by her, he felt her hand settle against his stomach right over the scar. Her fingers trembled and a growl rumbled through his head as the dragon protested to his bearer being touched by the human he couldn't stand. For a moment he thought she was going to just try to rip it out with her bare hand.

Then her fingers relaxed and Buffy gasped, "Why? Why are you protecting it?"

"_Him_," corrected Xander sternly. "Not 'it'." Slowly he moved his arm and grasped her hand, moving it away from his stomach as he took a step to the side away from her. Shaking his head at the Slayer, he said, "And Div is here for a reason, Buffy. He's the one thing that got left behind after last Halloween. If that's not a reason for me to try and keep him safe, I don't know what is."

"Now I'm going to go home," he called over his shoulder as he started walking again, this time not being stopped by her. "I'd suggest you do too."

Buffy sniffed from behind him and her voice cried out in a plea, "Xander, please…just…"

"No," he returned coldly without even twisting his head to look at her.

The young man strode purposefully out of the cemetery then and began walking back towards his parent's house, eyes watching the shadows in the trees and between buildings as he went.

_Well_, said Div, _that went better than I expected._

_Me too_, mumbled Xander. Absently he reached underneath his shirt and ran his fingers over the circular scar thoughtfully. _We can only hope she'll stop trying now._

_I seriously doubt she will have the brains to. You should speak to the Watcher again, I'm telling you._

The young man shook his head then grunted as he let himself into the back door of the house, quietly heading upstairs to his room past his drunken parents passed out on the couch.

_And we really must get out of this cesspit_, commented Div with what Xander perceived as a wrinkling of the dragon's nose. He pulled off his jacket and shirt as he simply grunted in response before unhooking the sword from his belt. Laying it across his dresser, he unbuckled his belt and pull it off to toss into a corner before he collapse face down onto his bed, toeing off his sneakers as he laid there.

The dragon sighed in his head, circling above the youth in his incorporeal form. As Xander rolled over and fumbled for the covers crumpled at the foot of the bed, Div stated,_ Good night._

"Night, Div," mumbled the young man under a yawn before he buried his face in his pillow.


	6. Giving Voice to Concerns and Dragons

**Chapter 6**

Xander snarled as swept his sword through the torso of one of the many zombies swarming across Buffy's lawn. After her stunt with him that night just a week before school had started back, it wasn't for her that he was coming to the rescue.

He was coming for Mrs. S, who baked him cookies and left them hidden underneath the back steps so her daughter wouldn't know.

For Giles, who still treated him normally but with a little bit of awe and had even finally fully earned Div's respect when the Watcher had asked politely about the dragon.

His Willow, too scared to lose her friendship with Buffy to greet him openly, but who talked with him over the phone for hours at night. Never perfect but…enough.

For Oz, simply because Willow loved him. That was enough.

Even for Cordelia, who was more than the image she raised around herself.

He came for _them_.

And for the person he _wished_ Buffy could be. The person he had imagined she was before Halloween, before Dart's memories, before Div.

As he spun, the silver of his blade stained by gray-green and black ichor, Div snarled, _There it is! The woman! She has the relic causing this!_

Xander twisted his head around to look and saw Willow freeze at a flash from the mask-possessed woman's eyes. A flicker of concentration and the silver band appeared on his forehead, the violet stones above his left eye separating. They move downward, forming into protective lenses over his eyes that he could still somehow see through, and he charged like a bull loosed from a gate.

The woman spun towards him and her eyes flashed at him to no effect. Grinning viciously, he brought his sword up in a swift slash and took her through the face, the speed and force of the blow increased by the armor. For a moment she stood then the left half of the top of her head slid away, vanishing along with her corpse and the rest of the zombies before it had even hit the ground.

Turning towards Willow, Xander let the armor fade in a cloud of violet and amber motes as he moved towards his oldest friend. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she replied breathlessly. Then her eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder and exclaimed, "Buffy!"

The young man spun around, his ichor-coated blade still in hand, and caught the Slayer's sword on the downswing. Though the force of it numbed his hand and pushed him back a step, he still held the blade off. Div snarled in his head and Xander found himself echoing the dragon's growl in reality a moment later as he shoved her blade away and brought the armor back with a thought.

"Seriously, _enough!_" he snapped, holding up his sword horizontal to his chest as he backed away. Buffy moved to come after him but was stopped by Willow's hands on her arm. "We already had this discussion!"

"This isn't about that," snarled the blonde with a glare. "You just _killed_ a _human_."

_Oh please_, said Div with a harsh snort, _as if I wasn't able to sense that the mask had entirely taken over her body. There was nothing __**left**__ in that woman that was human anymore after she put on the mask. If we had not stopped her this world would have been overrun with zombies in days._

_We?_ repeated Xander with a mental smile as his own face stayed in a harsh expression.

The dragon gave a 'shrug' then asked, _We are a team, aren't we?_

At that the youth's mouth twitched against the need to smile. To hear Div say that...well, sometimes he still wondered if Div missed Dart and would rather have him back than Xander. So it was good to hear it. _Yeah, we're a team._

"She was utterly possessed by that mask," he said slowly aloud, staring Buffy right in the eye. "Ask Giles about it later. This wasn't something like the hyena possession – it didn't just go away."

_Not that __**that**__ did either_, noted Div.

_She doesn't know that._

Looking at Willow and seeing her determined expression, Xander lowered his sword. As he sheathed it, he let the armor dissipate, leaving him back in his jeans, sneakers, t-shirt, and jacket. Looking hard at Buffy, he continued, "If there is nothing human left, then it is no longer killing a human, is it?"

"It's still _wrong_," hissed the blonde, eyes narrowed at him. The hand gripping her blade shook and he knew then that she was about to charge him, Willow or no Willow. His body tensed and he 'felt' Div do the same, the dragon gathering power that left his skin tingling as it settled around them.

_Div._

_I am __**not**__ going to allow her to hurt you_, growled the dragon in a protective tone that Xander remembered. Div had spoken to Dart like that when Shana's death had been discovered, when it was thought he had murdered his own wife and Albert had been forced to send men after them.

The Divine Dragon was not a beast to be tamed and he despised his existence as mere spirit...but he held fiercely to what was _his_ and he would protect it with all of his considerable power.

"Buffy, _please_," pleaded Willow, her eyes wide as she saw both of her friends tense up. "_Please_."

The bare blade in the Slayer's hand trembled then she tore away from the redhead with a shout, rushing across the space between them. Xander flinched and closed his eyes as his skin crawled with Div's gathered power. He knew the dragon wouldn't hurt Buffy deliberately because it wouldn't make Xander very happy but he wasn't going to be gentle.

And there wasn't a damn thing he could say that would stop him.

"_Buffy Anne Summers!_"

Everything froze as that voice rang out in the night with the ring of commanding an immediate and utter _stop_ and even Div, who rarely – if ever – followed orders, obeyed it. Slowly all eyes turned to the back door of the house where Mrs. Summers was framed by the lights from inside. Her expression could only be described as thunderous and there was a furious energy surrounding her as she did nothing more than stand in the door frame.

Buffy's arm slowly fell, sword falling to ground as she turned to look back at the house. "Mom?" she questioned in surprise, instantly falling from Slayer-on-the-warpath to daughter-in-serious-trouble-and-knows-it.

Even someone deaf, dumb, and blind would have been aware of the maternal fury that permeated everything about Joyce Summers in that moment.

_Oh good_, Xander heard Div say, _sense may very well prevail tonight_. At those words, the gathered power dissipated into nothingness and he felt the dragon relax. But the teenager also sensed his incorporeal body curling protectively around his own, the phantom sensation of scales against his skin, and knew Div was still in his protective mode.

_So long as she listens to Mrs. S._

_I think even she is aware of how much trouble she is in now. Perhaps if you had not told her mother the truth it would be a different matter but you did not._ The dragon 'shrugged' and added, _She is the best ally we could ask for._

Xander blinked at that and asked, _Is that real __**respect**__ I hear?_

Div nodded slightly. _If there is one human I have come to truly respect, it is that woman._ Xander then got the sensation that the dragon was smiling as well as the increased feeling of scales against his skin. It was Div's version of a hug and he accompanied it with an amused rumble, _And of course this foolish human carrying my spirit is also included in my respect._

_Thanks_, said the teenager then he refocused on the situation. Their conversation had only taken seconds but within that time Mrs. Summers had strode into the yard towards her daughter. As they both pulled away from their focus on each other, dragon and dragoon witnessed the older woman draw back her arm and slap her daughter hard across the face.

"Mrs. Summers!" exclaimed Willow from where she stood but fell quiet as Xander lifted a hand. He shook his head then looked back at the tableau before them just as the elder Summers woman spoke.

"You are better than this, young lady. I don't care what may have happened before or is still happening now. No matter _what_, Xander still somehow considers himself your friend though why I'm not sure when you have treated him so abominably during the past few months."

"But..."

"I don't want to hear it, Buffy! Now, you are going to _stop_ this before you lose one of your best friends and actually _sit down_ and _listen_ to what he has to say." Mrs. Summers paused and fixed her daughter with a glare that would have had even the hardest man obeying. "Is that understood?"

Buffy winced then began in a whine, "Mom..."

"_I don't want to hear it! _If it will help you, find some way to allow Div to speak so you can have an actual two way conversation if that will somehow placate you. But you _will_ do something about this situation other than trying to attack it like you do _vampires_. Xander isn't a vampire, is he?"

"...no."

"Then treat him like the friend he is _supposed to be_ and talk to him. And Div. Am I understood?"

Buffy frowned, glancing sideways, then glanced up at her mother as if expecting her stern expression to change. Mrs. Summers somehow managed to increase her glare and the Slayer wilted in record time, conceding with a mumbled, "Yes, Mom."

"Good," said Joyce with a sharp nod. She then looked towards Xander, giving him a smile that he and Div both knew was pointed at the both of them, then frowned at her daughter. Buffy nodded and slowly retreated into the house, followed by her mother and the very final sounding slam of the back door.

There was a moment of silence then Willow breathed, "_Wow._"

"Indeed," piped up Giles from where he had come to stand next to them during the entire show. He pulled his glasses from a pocket and put them back on before he said, "I think that has been enough excitement for tonight."

"Um, yeah," agreed Willow. She glanced nervously towards the house, where only minutes before they had been supposed to be having a birthday dinner with Buffy, then at Xander. "Walk me home?"

The teenager's face broke out in a goofy grin at that and he extended his arm to his oldest friend. "It would be my pleasure, m'lady. Night, G-man."

"Yes," said the Watcher as he watched the pair walk away arm-in-arm in the direction of the Rosenberg house, not even noticing the infernal nickname. "Good night indeed," he added to himself as he looked sadly at the Summers house before turning towards his car, hoping that Buffy would listen to her mother as she had not listened to the same advice from him.

* * *

"So you really think this spell'll work?" asked Xander as he gave the dusty book Willow was wielding a cautious gaze. He was a little less wary around magic with Dart's memories in his head but he still knew better than to entirely trust in it. "Its not going to, y'know, make me grow another head or something?"

"Oh no!" insisted Willow with a frantic shake of her head. "You see it..."

He held up a hand to forestall her oncoming explanation of the spell. "I'm still as clueless on magic mechanics as ever, Wills."

The redhead shook her head at that, saying warmly, "And yet you use what most people would see as a powerful magical object."

"Key word being 'most people'," pointed out Xander as he felt Div bristle at the idea of being called a magical object. "Well...if you think it'll work, let's test it."

"Now?"

"Why not?" he asked, looking around her room where they sat on her bed. "I mean, your parents aren't home and we need to figure out a way soon if we want to take Mrs. S's suggestion. Div agrees that him being able to actually be heard by someone other than me is probably the best way to convince Buffy."

Willow nodded at that, biting her lip, then said, "I don't see how we didn't think of that before!"

"Possible apocalypse," pointed out Xander with a wry smile.

"Right...okay. Sit up and give me your hands."

Pushing himself up, Xander resettled on the bed with his legs crossed and facing his best friend, holding out his hands palms up towards her. As she slid her hands into his, he felt the tremble in them and squeezed his fingers around hers. Terrified eyes met his own and he smiled reassuringly as he softly said, "You'll do fine."

Willow smiled at that and took a deep breath as she sat up straight, the tension melting out of her almost instantly. Across from her Xander smiled and felt Div pull himself to full attention instead of his half-dozing state of before.

_If this works..._

_If it works_, began Xander where the dragon had trailed off, _you'll be able to hold an actual conversation with someone besides me. Though I think the disembodied voice will take a little getting used to._

He felt the dragon's tension of second ago dissipate at the slight jib and chuckle. _So it will_, agreed Div then they both turned their focus back to Willow, who now had her eyes closed.

"Aoidē, Muse, Daughter of Zeus, I beseech you," intoned the redhead. "Give a voice to one who has none so he may be heard by those around him. Give him the power to speak words aloud if it would be your bidding to have it done."

Xander felt Div tense up and asked, _Anything?_

_I..._ The dragon trailed off and the teenager realized that he was actually nervous. _I'm unsure. How am I to even know __**how**__ to speak aloud?_

_I'm not sure how to explain that_, said Xander then he spoke aloud to Willow, who had opened her eyes. "He doesn't know if it worked."

"Oh?" she asked, looking disappointed. "Why not?"

"He's not sure how he's supposed to manage speaking aloud."

"Oh." Her eyes widened as realization came and Willow repeated, "_Oh._ Well...I'm not sure."

_Excellent_, grumbled Div irritably. _Well that was an..._"complete and utter waste." Xander and Willow stiffened in the same moment he felt the dragon go 'still'. "Is that...?"

"That's you!" crowed Xander, grinning brightly. "Though, like I said, disembodied voice is _really_ weird."

"Yes," agreed Div with a nervous sort of tremble in his voice. His tone then steeled and became his own again as he asked, "Do we have any idea how long this will last?"

Willow blinked then shook her herself to awareness, saying, "Oh...well. Not really. I suppose however long Aoidē chooses to allow you a voice."

"So we should be quick about having the conversation with Buffy," observed Xander.

"Indeed." The teenager felt the dragon frown then before he asked in a curious tone, "What do I sound like to you both?"

Two pairs of eyes met and the old friends shared a knowing smile before Willow began to giggle. Xander followed not long after as he realized what the answer to that question was , even his thought dissolving into laughter as Div tried to get him to answer in that fashion. The dragon growled grumpily at their collapse into incoherency, not understanding what was so funny.

It wasn't like he would have even known what they were talking about if they _had_ been able to tell him he sounded rather like James Earl Jones.


	7. A Time to Talk and to Listen

**Disclaimer:** Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor anything related to it belong to me.

**Chapter 7  
**

"Okay," said Willow sternly as she stood at the end of the table in the library. She looked from Buffy who was sitting ramrod straight in one chair to where Xander slouched in the other and continued, "We talked about what rules should be had for this conversation?"

"Rules?" repeated the Slayer with a hard glance towards the young man across from her.

With a quick nod the redhead said, "No asking about Div's previous bearer Dart – he has nothing to do with this. And no asking Div to reveal anything about Xander because he won't do it. Plus..."

_Not to **her**, I won't_, growled Div as he tightened the grip of his invisible coils around his bearer's body as Willow continued laying out the rules the three of them had agreed upon. Xander winced at the pressure he felt and instantly it lessened. _My apologies._

_I know you're just trying to protect me_, assured the teenager with the mental equivalent of scratching the dragon's chin. As a pleased rumble echoed through his head, Xander continued, _But lessen up on the hugs. It's starting to get where I can feel you all the time around me rather than just when you're draping yourself like a cat._

Div sniffed at that and muttered, _I do not **drape**._ He then 'nodded', saying, _Yes, I remember. Such is because of the stone being inside of you, I believe._

_So you said_, noted Xander. _Just a little bit freaky though knowing that my body is essentially bonding with it._

_I would give you some assurances but so far as I am aware this never happened with any of the other bearers. Then again, perhaps it is because of what I am._ Div made a humming noise before adding, _It is interesting that whatever this is has effected how I speak._

Xander rolled his eyes at that.

_Oh_, he said after a moment_, you mean how your voice has started coming out of **my** mouth now instead of being disembodied and we can only talk for about an hour and a half before I collapse from exhaustion?_

The teenager felt the dragon shift nervously, scales brushing roughly against his skin and clothes.

_Yes_, answered Div, _that is what I mean. Or perhaps it was that being Willow summoned._

_Aoidē, Greek Muse_, said Xander with a little winning smirk that he could remember that and the dragon couldn't. That earned him the unsettling sensation of teeth nibbling on his ear and he resisted the urge to try and brush something off since he knew he couldn't. _Stop that!_

Div chuckled darkly then they both returned their attention to the others as Willow finished, "...and he can only talk for about an hour."

"Why?" asked Buffy, eyes narrowed.

"Because," answered Xander as he leaned forward, "the effort of Div speaking draws energy from _me_ thanks to the tweaking of the Muse Wills called upon for the spell. Which is fine enough with us since it allows him to speak if he needs to but also keeps him from overusing the privilege."

_As if I would overuse it_, grumbled the dragon.

Buffy gave him a skeptical look then looked over at the closed door of Giles' office where her mother was talking with the Watcher. They had left her alone while waiting on Willow and Xander to arrive to discuss some changes her mother had hinted at. What exactly _that_ had meant was a mystery but she had a feeling she wasn't going to like her mom knowing so much about Slaying.

With a grunt Xander leaned back in his chair and shouted, "G-man! Mrs. S! We're ready to start!"

The door opened a moment later to allow both adults to exit and Buffy watched with wide eyes as her mother walked close by Xander, patting him gently on the shoulder. She and Giles both then took their places behind Willow at the head of the table and everything went silent for a moment.

She didn't know what to say.

"Well then," rumbled a deep voice that she _knew_. Buffy turned slowly, eyes wide, to look at Xander who had dropped his chair back to the floor and was leaning on the table. A smirk twisted his lips and there was an amused twinkle in his hazel eyes but she _knew_ that voice wasn't his. Yet his mouth opened _again_ and _it_ came out. "Shall we get this conversation started?"

"I...wha...huh?"

"I," said 'Xander', "am the one you have been trying to get rid of this entire time. Perhaps it is polite to introduce myself?"

Buffy just stared, unable to comprehend the fact that not only was the dragon speaking _through_ Xander but that he sounded like _Darth Vader_. Which was amusing given Xander's obvious geekiness but was still terribly unnerving since that voice brought with it a boatload of the terror she'd felt the first time she'd seen _Star Wars._

"O-okay," she managed to stammer after a moment.

Xander just looked amused as his mouth said, "So you _can_ speak. Amazing."

_Div_, mentally growled Xander warningly since once they switched control getting it back again took a lot of energy.

_Oh, come now, she was asking for that one._

The teenager sighed and said, _Just...try not to piss her off? Please?_

Div shook his head, wondering exactly _why_ the boy was so attached to the girl, but relented. If him playing nice would repair something of their relationship, he would do it for his bearer's happiness.

_Very well._

"I," continued Div aloud through Xander, "am the Divine Dragon, King of the Dragons of the world of Endiness. You may call me Div as I will never tell anyone other than Xander my true name again."

"Why not?" asked Buffy, finally able to find her voice through her initial shock.

A growl rumbled out of Xander's throat – a far darker and more bestial sound than he would ever be able to make – and Div answered, "In my own world I was imprisoned for fear I would destroy the world and they used my true name to secure the seals they placed upon me. After time, however, the magic of the seals waned with no one to care for them. I was released and those of the past brought down my vengeance on those of the present."

The Slayer blinked then hissed, "You attacked people who weren't even responsible for you being imprisoned?"

"Dragons are not creatures to be held by collar and leash like some _dog_," snarled the dragon in a brutal tone. "Thousands of years spent chained beneath a mountain, bound to the earth without means to see sky or spread my wings. When I broke free, I did not care _who_ I killed, little girl, only that someone would _suffer_ for what I had gone through."

He paused, taking a deep breath, and then Div continued in a calmer voice. "I am no longer caught in the web of that need, so you do not need to fear I will send Xander into madness."

_If you would spread your hands_, he said to the teenager since he could control only Xander's voice.

_Of course, Div_. Xander frowned a little, wondering the dragon's ploy, but spread his hands out on the table, palms flat against the surface of the wood.

"Now," said Div in a stern tone, "do you have any questions for me, girl? If I'm not mistaken, we have taken up ten minutes already."

"You did," corrected Buffy. Then she bristled and snapped, "And my name is not 'girl'!"

This time Xander took the initiative and leaned back in his chair with a gesture towards Buffy before he steepled his fingers. Div caught on quickly and coolly stated, "And how am I to know your name when you have not introduced yourself?"

"You know-"

"It's only polite," interrupted the dragon in a smarmy tone.

Buffy opened her mouth to retort then closed it, her teeth snapping together sharply. She took a deep breath then extended one hand across the table as she said, "I'm Buffy Summers."

With that Xander leaned forward and took Buffy's hand, all too aware of Div's presence coiling around his own, effectively shaking her hand himself in his way.

"Now that we have officially met," said Div as they both leaned back, "do you have any questions?"

Almost immediately the Slayer was on the attack, firing questions left and right.

"Do you mean any harm to Xander?"

"Being as he is my bearer, no. I admit at first I was wary of him from my initial brushes with his mind but he has proved to be not only a suitable warrior if given the tools and a noble friend."

Both Div and Xander noted Buffy's wince at his words and the teenager noted, _Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?_

_The girl needs to **understand** what she has done. _Div paused before he continued, _I have witnessed your loyalty to her and the others since I have come here and it is something to **treasure**. You would walk through fire for any of these people you call 'family' without batting an eye and she needs to see that she **needs** that loyalty._

Xander sat in stunned silent for a moment then asked, _You really think that?_

_Child, one of these days I am going to rid you once and for all of that damnable idea that you are less than you are_, growled the dragon. _And were I able, I would kill your parents for putting it in your head._

_Div..._

_Maim then_, conceded the dragon, still unable to comprehend how the teenager could still care about the fate of his parents.

Xander grunted in a vaguely agreeing tone then said, _Buffy's about to ask something else._

Div shifted his attention quickly and waited for the girl to ask her next question.

Buffy frowned then asked, "So...how's you end up in the stone thingy? The one Xander has inside him now?"

"_What?_" exploded the other three occupants of the room and Xander bowed his head even as Div prepared a response.

"Upon death the dragons of Endiness have their souls compacted into stones like the one Xander bears. In the time between the death blow and true death, it is possible to reach inside the dragon to retrieve this stone. These are the Dragoon spirits which allow the humanoid races to use the powers of the dragons."

As Xander lifted his head finally, a pained expression on his face, Div added, "About the...debacle...at the hospital, Xander and I concluded that it would be safer for my stone to be hidden elsewhere. Since it must be in contact with him to work, we came to the decision that it being inside him would be best."

Obediently Xander lifted his shirt to show off the half-circle scar on his torso as the dragon finished, "It was a simple enough operation with some assistance from medical books."

Willow blinked open-mouthed at them both while Giles pulled off his glasses, polishing them and muttering, "Oh dear," under his breath. Joyce then took a step forward and slapped the back of Xander's head sharply, rocking him forward and bringing a startled, "Mom!" out of her daughter.

Wincing, Xander hissed, _Damnit, Div, apologize, **apologize**, before she hits me again!_

"Mrs. Summers," said Div quickly as she reared back for what looked like another strike, "please. This would have happened sooner or later anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at them and even the dragon felt a little cowed by the expression on her face. After a moment she leaned down and as Xander leaned back, he felt Div doing the same while coiling more tightly around him.

"That was a stupid thing to do on your own," hissed Joyce. "And if I _ever_ hear about you – _either of you_ – coming up with such a stupid plan again, I will smack you again. Xander could have died from blood loss or worse doing that!"

"I made sure we both knew what needed to be done before we began, Mrs. Summers," assured Div in as calm a voice as he could manage. "And, as I said, one way or another it would have had to be done anyway. It is simply not safe to be carrying around the stone as he was."

The older woman nodded sharply as she leaned back. "I understand that," she said, her tone lightening and growing kinder. "But you remember my words, Div. And if either of you have such a hair-brained idea again, come to one of us for help first."

"Of course," said the dragon to her then nudged Xander to turn back towards Buffy. As he did, he noticed the amused expression on her face and noted pointedly, "I wouldn't laugh."

Immediately her expression fell as she remembered the tough-lashing she had received from her mother as well as the grounding she was still living under. Then, shaking herself, Buffy went back to her questions.

In the end, they went a little over the hour time limit that had been set down and were closing in on the hour and a half mark when Div noticed that Xander's hands were shaking.

_I can go to the end of the time_, protested the teenager tiredly but the dragon sharply spoke up.

"We have gone on longer than we should have," he said. "Are you satisfied that I am an ally at the least, Buffy?"

Buffy suppressed a shudder at her name coming out in that _voice_ then nodded, saying, "I think so."

Div snorted but stated, "That will do. Then I bid you all farewell until I find need to speak again." He released his hold on the link to Xander's vocal cords and coiled reassuringly around the teenager. _You should have warned me that we were getting close to the time._

_Was important for Buff to get to know you_, replied his bearer tiredly. Xander then pushed himself to his feet and, after wobbling, asked, "Um...can someone drive me home?"

"I will," stated Joyce, firmly intending to take the teen back to her own house to sleep. She wasn't going to let him walk back into that _place_ his parents dared call a home half out of his mind with exhaustion. Glancing at her daughter, she said, "Remember to try and be home before one, Buffy."

The Slayer nodded since even Giles had agreed it was safe enough for her to not patrol as late as she usually did and watched as her mother helped Xander out of the library. She then looked at her Watch and asked, "What do you think?"

Giles shook his head slightly before saying, "I have already heard some of this before via Xander. And while I did have some initial distrust, it has become rather obvious to me that the dragon rather honestly wishes to help."

"He helps us because Xander wants to help us," piped Willow. At their curious looks, she shrugged and added, "We talked a bit after we first did the spell. That's how we found out about the limit." She didn't mention that he had been a disembodied voice then, not speaking through Xander. That had happened a week after the spell's casting and both of them had told her their shared suspicion about stone slowly bonding to him.

No matter how Buffy might come to accept Div, Xander and Willow knew she would never fully accept _that_. Well...not immediately anyway. Give her time to get to know the dragon and she might be able to wrap her head around the idea.

There was silence between them for a moment then Giles coughed and said, "A very – ah – interesting voice."

Willow choked at that, failing to cover a laugh, and finally gave in to her giggles a moment later. As her Watcher smirked, Buffy gave in to the smile trying to creep across her own face.

Div did seem to honestly want to help so...she'd try and trust him for now.

But he only got one chance.


End file.
